Weekly Update on PGPCNPREALTORS.com
October 22nd, 2009
To view this newsletter online, please click HERE.
Breaking News!
October General Membership Meeting – We have another fantastic general membership meeting this month on October 30th at 11:15am (please note the earlier time). We will be hearing from author and financing expert Jason Kotar on the topic Home Buyers and Mortgages as well as getting information about the new One Smart Mover program. Free lunch provided by Kevin Graham of Integrity Risk Management and drinks provided by After A Disaster. You do not want to miss this opportunity. Please RSVP by emailing Linda Pizarro (l.pizarro@comcast.net)...RSVP is required.
Microsoft Office 2007 Classes – You asked for them and now they are available! Our very own Microsoft Certified Trainer Mary Tombs will be presenting classes on Microsoft Office 2007 on the following dates (each class will be held from 9am-12pm) Publisher – Oct 23rd; Word – Oct 29th ; Outlook – Nov 5th; PowerPoint – Nov 10th; Excel – Nov 12th Each of these classes is FREE for Education Passport Members and $15 for Non-Passport holders. Space is limited, so sign up today to reserve your seat. Email David-Logan@comcast.net to RSVP or with additional questions. **Please note that attendees must bring their own laptop with Office 2007 as the Association’s computer lab has Office 2003** If you do not have a laptop with Office 2007, but would still like to attend, please email David Logan to see if something can be arranged.
New Professional Development Opportunities – email David-Logan@comcast.net for questions or to sign up. All Courses are FREE to Education Passport Members. Do not miss these opportunities to obtain the knowledge and learn the skills which will increase your business and earn more money!
Oct 30th 1pm Homebuyers & Mortgages (4 Hours CE Credit): Information that every homebuyer needs to know about issues regarding financing a home in today’s market!
Nov 3rd 1pm Free e-PRO Workshop: Learn about the NAR designation that sets you apart as knowledgeable and ready to use technology to increase your business, sign up HERE.
Nov 10th 12pm FREE Short Sales, Foreclosure & Bankruptcy Seminar: Hear from attorney Mark Martella about how to navigate the process and know the right terminology. FREE LUNCH!
Dec 3rd 1pm How to Increase Repeat and Referral Business: Hear Nationally Recognized Real Estate Educator Richard Flint and learn how to keep the clients coming back & increase referrals!
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK!!
Karen Rolland, President
My fellow REALTORS® and Members,
Winter sure was nice while it lasted, eh? I loved the cool weather but it certainly was short lived! It brought to mind the great days of fall in Minnesota and actually made me a little homesick for those nights by the campfire on the lake!
We have a great General Membership Meeting coming up next Friday, October 30th. Don’t forget that it will be starting earlier than normal because there is a continuing education class scheduled for 1:00. The instructor, Jason Kotar, will be giving us a brief introduction to his class at the meeting regarding the loan market today. His class is excellent so why not stay and pick up 4 hours of credits? In addition, we will be welcoming Jack Hackett, our legal counsel, along with Frank Desguin, Charlotte County Appraiser, to discuss the Chinese Drywall situation. Jennifer Thompson-Kersting will be joining us to give us an update on MFR issues and last but not least, we will be introducing a new Association benefit for our REALTOR® members. It will be an action packed meeting and one you won’t want to miss! Our food and drink sponsors will be Kevin Graham of Integrity Risk Management and Robin Lindecamp of After A Disaster.
Next week, our 2010 FAR President, Wendell Davis, will be visiting our area and meeting with the leadership from District 13 at the Isles Yacht Club to share his goals for next year. I saw him at the last FAR meeting and he said he just had to make the trip to our area because he missed the District Conference we had here in June. Everyone on the leadership team told him how great it is so he wanted to come and see for himself!
If you frequent the CNN website, you may have seen a familiar face this past week. Our own John Sheridan was featured demonstrating a newly found application for his iPhone. Congratulations John, you never cease to amaze us!
On that note, happy selling and have a great week!
Education Corner
Oct 30th 1pm Homebuyers & Mortgages (4 Hours CE Credit): Information that every homebuyer needs to know about issues regarding financing a home in today’s market! Taught by author and finance expert Jason Kotar, Homes Buyers and Mortgages will provide up to date information that every homebuyer or homeowner needs to know about issues regarding financing a home in today’s market. This is information that you need to understand to better support the needs of your clients. FREE for Education Passport members, $15 for Non-Passport members.
Nov 3rd 1pm Free e-PRO Workshop: Learn about the NAR designation that sets you apart as knowledgeable and ready to use technology to increase your business, sign up HERE.
Nov 10th 12pm FREE Short Sales, Foreclosure & Bankruptcy Seminar: Hear from attorney Mark Martella about how to navigate the process and know the right terminology. FREE LUNCH! Email David Logan to RSVP for this important and timely seminar which will give you insight into the process of Short Sales, Foreclosures, and Bankruptcy from the perspective of an attorney who works on these issues on a regular basis. Click HERE for more details.
Dec 3rd 1pm How to Increase Repeat and Referral Business: Hear Nationally Recognized Real Estate Educator Richard Flint and learn how to keep the clients coming back & increase referrals! Free for Education Passport members, $15 for non-passport.
FREE Hands-On MLS Training! Courses include “Design Web Page & Capture Leads”, “iMapp: interactive tax and mailing labels”, “Tools: MongoFax, RatePlug, ShowingTime and MLX Wireless”, “Creating a Professional CMA”, and “MLXChange Advanced” and more. Classes are HANDS ON with laptops provided. Click HERE for class schedule, additional details and to reserve a seat, space is limited!
Looking to Improve your Public Speaking or Leadership Skills? - Come join us for our next meeting of Toastmasters International on Wednesday from 7:30am – 8:45am, there is no cost to attend the meeting and you are not obligated to join, come see what this is all about. The club is open to REALTORS® and Non-REALTORS®, so invite your friends, neighbors, or co-workers. You will have the opportunity to see what a meeting is like and discover how Toastmasters can help improve your communication and leadership skills and network with other professionals. Remember, good communication skills are the keys to success in business and real estate! For more details or to RSVP for the meeting, please email David-Logan@comcast.net you can read more about Toastmasters on the web at www.toastmasters.org
Market Watch
Global Property Prices Turning Up Real estate markets worldwide are stabilizing and showing signs of a tentative recovery, according to a newly released report from London-based global property consultancy Knight Frank. The quarterly Knight Frank Global House Price Index shows property values increasing in almost half of 32 countries surveyed during the second quarter of this year. “Significantly, quarterly price falls accelerated in only 22 percent of the locations and did not exceed 10 percent in any country,” says Liam Bailey, head of residential research for Knight Frank. “This compares with double-digit falls in a number of locations during the first quarter.” Click HERE for more details.
Tech Takes Home Offices to Extreme - Katy Leakey rises early in the morning, has breakfast with her husband, Philip, and heads to the 12-foot-by-12-foot office where she spends much of her workday. Like many other entrepreneurs, she keeps her jewelry and home accessories business running smoothly by checking in with customers and distributors through phone calls, e-mail and the VoIP service Skype. Unlike many entrepreneurs, she works out of a tent in Kenya. Katy and Philip Leakey, son of the famous archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey, hire rural Kenyans to create the eco-friendly products that make up The Leakey Collection. The couple, who live among the Maasai people in the Kenyan bush, sell the goods online and in U.S. retail stores. They reinvest a portion of revenue on local projects such as building roads and schools. For the full article, click HERE.
Nelson: Use Federal Block Grants for Drywall - U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is considering all options to ease Chinese drywall problems, including some that probably won’t work. On Friday, Nelson sent a letter to Florida House and Senate leaders, suggesting that they investigate whether federal funds not yet used could be earmarked for homeowners facing problems with Chinese drywall. He wants Florida to consider a $5 million program that would divert Community Development Block Grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to homeowners with the toxic drywall. The program was created in Louisiana, which also has a significant number of homes with Chinese drywall. For the full article, click HERE.
Commercial Loan Modifications - U.S. bank regulators reportedly are close to issuing guidelines that would prod lenders to rework troubled commercial real estate loans to help banks avoid larger losses. Regulators are steeling for more failures, especially among small banks with major exposure to commercial property loans. More than 50 percent of the $3.4 trillion in outstanding commercial real estate debt is now held by banks, with Deutsche Bank AG forecasting that commercial property losses could cost them in the range of $300 billion. According to Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo, construction and development loans are causing the most distress because they likely are not generating any income or revenue for the borrower, thus making it easier to fall behind. Source: Wall Street Journal, Damian Paletta (10/15/09) © Copyright 2009 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
Keeping Mortgage Loans in the Family - Low-interest intra-family loans can be the best way for parents to help their children purchase a property. The strategy makes the purchase more affordable, increases the size of the home a cash-strapped purchaser can afford, and helps the parent leverage his gift to reduce a taxable estate. The parent must charge interest at a market rate on family loans, says Ken Kilday, an adviser with USAA Wealth Management, or face IRS penalties. But parents can then take the $13,000 – $26,000 for a couple – that can be legally gifted without tax repercussions, and apply it annually toward paying off their child’s loan. Kilday also suggests that parents put in their will that, upon their death, the loan is fully forgiven. Source: Dow Jones Newswires, Taylor Smith (10/15/2009) © Copyright 2009 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
Real estate trivia
This Week’s Question
Question: Have you ever dreamed of living in a house-cave, or maybe have your home sit on top of a volcano? Do you know about some of the strangest houses for sale?
Answer: Click HERE to read and see photos of some of the most unusual houses for sale in the world.
Last Week’s Question
Question: What amazing talents do your fellow REALTORS® possess? An Illinois Real Estate Agent was just crowned World Champion of a major international contest!
Answer: Click HERE to see what award was just presented to REALTOR® Maureen Barrett.